In a cellular communications network, such as one employing orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), each cell employs a base station that communicates with user equipment, such as a cell phone or a laptop that is actively located within its cell. When the user equipment is first turned on, it has to do an initial cell search in order to be connected to the cellular network. This involves a downlink synchronization process between the base station and the user equipment wherein the base station sends a synchronization signal to the user equipment. The synchronization signal includes a primary synchronization signal, which is used primarily for initial timing and frequency adjustments and channel estimation by the user equipment. Since cellular communications systems offer increasingly greater flexibility in their use, improvements would be beneficial in the art.